Trattoria da Gigio

Great food and lovely back patio! Service was wonderful as I asked for a salad and thought it was not on the menu, our server said no problem.

Last time in Venice we planned to come here but had to change our plans, when it was booked out for the evening.

This year we got lucky and got a seat. Based on the good feedback our hopes were pretty high. Atmosphere is nice, prices are right and the staff nice and friendly.

But the food was a bit of a mixed bag. We had a plate of Spaghetti Vongole, a plate of Gnocchi with Shrimp and a plate with chopped liver and polenta.
We've had our share of Gnocchi and Spaghetti Vongole all around Italy. But these meals here were average at tops. These meals are never overly spiced, but even so, here they were really really bland. Spaghetti were al dente though, but really just not flavours. Not really bad....just boring. The surprise was the chopped liver. Even I'm not a fan of livers, I enjoyed this plate very much. Tender, good flavour, nice sauce. Perfect match with the polenta.
We had a fine evening here on the streets of Venice. But all in all the food didn't wow us, just the liver. And that's just not enough for us to come back. But once was ok.

My wife made reservations for us to surprise me. She tried to find something that would satisfy my wanting a multi course meal and a place good for our 11 year old daughter. This place was perfect.

We were sat in the courtyard which was beautiful. The waitress was extremely kind and very accommodating to our picky 11 year old.

My wife and I ordered one of the tasting menus (the all fish one). It was absolutely delicious. The first course was a trio (Octopus Salad, Whipped Cod, Shrimp w/ Polenta). All 3 were delicious. The Octopus was my favorite for it's impeccable cooking of the Octopus so it was tender. My wife's was the Shrimp and Polenta for it's richness. The Cod was good but definitely the weakest of the trio.

Second course was Swordfish Crudo and Sweet and Sour pickled Mackerel. Again both were too notch, but the Crudo left the mackerel far behind with it's lightness and freshness.

Third Course was Seared and Breaded Scallops and Crab. These two danced beautifully together with crabs light body and mildly salty flavor contrasted by the stronger scallop with it's browned butter and breading. Some crab... Some scallop... Some crab... Some scallop. Repeat till in heaven.

Lastly a bowl of Mussels. Fresh, buttered and delicious.

For 36 euro a person this felt extremely affordable for the ingredients and culinary time and skill for the dishes. I'd happily eat here again and again.

We ate here our first night in Venice mainly because it was Carnival (Mardi Gras to be precise) and they were one of the few places open with available seating. I was attracted by the thought of gnocci. The food was definitely good plus they let us bring in a bottle of champagne and didn't charge us a corking fee (it was my birthday).

We came here just to try a few venetian dishes, like the sardine in saor sauce, and liver.

The sardine was slightly colder than preferred (though admittedly it is a cold dish), but still enjoyable. However, I would recommend a pass on the liver, with it not being particularly well-flavoured.

Service is passable and perhaps more on the terse side - this would be more a place to feed your hunger and move on rather than lounge about soaking up the atmosphere. It would be quite impossible to lounge in any case, what with the small space being crammed with enough tables and chairs to make seating oneself somewhat difficult if unlucky enough to be escorted to one of the small tables lined alongside the right wall.

Venice is quite lovely to walk around in the off-season, and there are plenty of places to find morsels of good food. Though this place wasn't especially bad, I would suggest trying somewhere else for a visitor looking to enjoy themselves a meal.

Make a reservation! We arrived at 8pm and luckily they had one table open, but the rest were booked.
Wine is cheap and food is tasty. Order the gnocchi, it's incredible!
Portion sizes are huge. The smallest set menu (€16) is a lot of food. I was full after the first course!

Very average, but inexpensive. In the US, I would call it a diner. I was waiting for a table at another nearby restaurant that they said would be 20 min. I wanted a salad for lunch before getting on my train to Milano. After 40 min and all tables still filled with food, I left and looked for someplace quick. This place was relatively empty and they had a salad with tuna and shrimp (with egg) on the menu for 8.50 euros, so I had the salad and a glass of the house red wine. The salad was fresh and egg cooked perfectly, but the tuna and shrimp (world's smallest) I think was canned.. The house wine was fine. I was satisfied and glad I made it in time for my train. Note: they have a Visa/MasterCard logo posted but will only take a credit card if over 20 euros.

Great food and nice atmosphere. Thank you for the hospitality, Venezia! Definitely order the grilled veggies and be sure to grab a glass of the house red wine. They have outdoor seating in the back but airflow is better inside. Grazie!

Amazing pasta and friendly staff. We had lunch here on our first day in Venice. It checked all our boxes and fed us delicious food! Not very many vegetarian options however.

To quote one of my dinner companions: "It's nice to know that Chef Boyardee tastes the same as I remember."

The plates were decently large, but the food was borderline inedible. The carbonara had neither egg nor bacon, but rather a tasteless cream sauce and large cubes of cheap diced ham. The ravioli tasted like it came from a frozen bag from the dollar store and had flavor reminiscent of cardboard and Kraft cheese.

The service was slow and rude.

This place takes advantage of the fact that the vast majority of its customers will never return regardless of quality.